Principal Technical Program Manager

Ford Ford · Auto · Dearborn, MI +1 · Ford Next Businesses

This role is for a Principal Technical Program Manager at Ford, focusing on transforming vehicle electrical architecture and software platforms. The TPM will drive the Cloud & Mobile technology roadmap, manage portfolios and programs, lead cross-functional teams, and communicate program status. The role requires extensive experience in technical program management within complex systems and consumer-facing software.

What you'd actually do

  1. Drive the Cloud & Mobile technology roadmap, with a deep understanding of mobile apps, cloud applications / infrastructure, and connected vehicle experiences.
  2. Develop and maintain integrated schedules, dependency maps, and risk mitigation plans across Cloud & Mobile portfolio.
  3. Build strong relationships with engineering, product, engineering project managers, and partner teams.
  4. Communicate program status, scorecards, risks, and decisions clearly and effectively to executive leadership and technical teams.
  5. Identify and implement process improvements to enhance program execution, quality, and velocity.

Skills

Required

  • Bachelor’s Degree in Engineering, Computer Science, or equivalent work experience.
  • 10+ years of experience in technical program management within highly complex systems, including multiple successful release cycles of consumer-facing software at scale.
  • 10+ years of experience leading cross-functional projects across Cloud, Mobile, or Embedded systems.
  • Deep experience with Agile methodologies and enterprise-level project management tools (e.g., JIRA, Confluence).
  • Experience managing large-scale, cross-functional programs across multiple vehicle platforms.
  • Excellent communication, presentation, and stakeholder management skills.
  • Strong analytical and problem-solving capabilities.
  • Executive presence and the ability to influence and guide senior leadership.

Nice to have

  • Expertise in cloud-native architectures, API management, and consumer-facing mobile apps.
  • Ability to thrive in unstructured environments and independently manipulate scope-cost-time-quality levers to achieve goals.
  • Strong analytical skills with experience leveraging large volumes of data to identify opportunities in planning or delivery.
  • Experience implementing organizational processes (PDCA, Retros) and mentoring other TPMs or engineers.
  • Demonstrated pattern of developing empathy for the end-user to inform delivery plans.

What the JD emphasized

  • highly complex systems
  • consumer-facing software at scale
  • large-scale, cross-functional programs across multiple vehicle platforms